Ranking the Top 5 Most Underrated Giants Free Agent Signings Since 2000
As we inch closer to the start of the NFL free agency period, we've already looked at some of the worst personnel decisions the Giants have made over the last 20 years.
This week, we’re going to be a little more positive and pick out the five most underrated free agent signings made by the Giants since 2000.
In the offseason, each team wants to make a splash and sign the biggest names in free agency, but it always helps to have a little luck on your side and an eye out for those who may fly under the radar. Champions are built from the ground up and everywhere in between.
(You might notice a few "glaring omissions" from this list, but keep reading to the bottom as I explain why certain players didn't make this list.)
5. CB Janoris Jenkins (2016)
Although Janoris Jenkins didn't finish his contract with the Giants--he was cut in 2019 after using a slur in an exchange with a fan on social media and did not show remorse following the fallout--his first year with the Giants was very productive.
Jenkins made the Pro Bowl that season and was a big part of the defense's overhaul, contributing to a unit that allowed the second-fewest points in 2016 after allowing the third-most the year before.
Jenkins is one of only seven defensive backs in NFL history with multiple interceptions returned for touchdowns in three different seasons, a list that includes Hall of Famers Ken Houston, Aeneas Williams, and Rod Woodson.
4. DE Olivier Vernon (2016)
Another key contributor to the Giants’ defensive rebuild was Olivier Vernon, who came to New York after spending his entire playing career in Miami (he was born and raised in South Florida, went to the “U,” and played four seasons with the Dolphins).
At the time, Vernon signed a record-setting deal for a defensive end thanks to a market that favored the buyer. We can argue as to whether he lived up to his contract, but before injuries started to limit his availability, Vernon was a solid pass rusher and run defender. In three years with the Giants, he recorded 22 sacks and reached the Pro Bowl in 2018.
He was traded to the Cleveland Browns for guard Kevin Zeitler, and unfortunately for Vernon, who currently is rehabbing from a ruptured Achilles, his injury issues continued in Cleveland.
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3. OG Kevin Boothe (2007)
After one season with the Oakland Raiders, offensive lineman Kevin Boothe, a sixth-round draft pick out of Cornell, was claimed off waivers by the Giants, just in time for their Super Bowl run.
After playing part-time for several years, Boothe became a starter on the line late in the 2011 season and started in their Super Bowl XLVI victory over New England.
2. OT Kareem McKenzie (2005)
Offensive tackle Kareem McKenzie was originally drafted by the Jets in the third round of 2001. After three productive seasons, he switched Meadowlands locker rooms and signed with the Giants.
McKenzie went on to start in each of their two Super Bowl victories over the Patriots. Surprisingly, he never made the Pro Bowl, despite playing his whole career in the country's biggest market on one of the better offensive lines of its era.
1. C Shaun O’Hara (2004)
Every champion needs an outstanding center to anchor their offense, and that’s precisely what the Giants had in Shaun O’Hara.
Initially signing with Cleveland as an undrafted free agent out of Rutgers, O’Hara played four seasons with the Browns at guard before signing a mere three-year, $5.4 million contract with the Giants in 2004.
With the Giants, he switched to center but was not there for rookie Eli Manning's NFL debut. O'Hara suffered a health scare (staph infection) in that first season in New York, missing out on Manning's debit (Wayne Lucier was Manning's first center in the NFL).
O’Hara thankfully recovered from his staph infection and gradually became the heart and soul of the Giants’ offense. He led an offensive line that protected Manning throughout the 2007 playoff run, culminating with their upset victory over unbeaten New England in Super Bowl XLII.
O’Hara subsequently made three consecutive Pro Bowl appearances before retiring after the 2010 season.
But What About....? Players who Didn't Make This List--and Why
Several other names could be added to this list, particularly players from the Giants' Super Bowl runs.
When safety Antrel Rolle was signed in 2010, he became the highest-paid safety in league history. He already had a Super Bowl appearance and a Pro Bowl selection under his belt in Arizona, so I didn't view him as an under-the-radar type of signing.
While linebackers Antonio Pierce and Michael Boley were key contributors to the defense, each of them already had solid numbers before they came to the Giants, Pierce with Washington and Boley with Atlanta.
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